Trolley Thursday 9/2/21 - Frank J. Sprague, Father of the Streetcar

Welcome to another brand new month of trolley-posting here at Twice-Weekly Trolley History! For the month of September, we have no real theme this time, but we hope the variety can keep you riders and readers interested!

The electric motor. The trolley pole. Air brakes. We all seem to take these things for granted when we stand back and examine what a streetcar is. After all, hindsight breeds common sense: it makes sense to us to have a stick reaching up and gathering electricity, which feeds a traction motor attached directly to an axle to move the car. But how did these elements come together in the first place? Why did this process work and not a rolling troller on a wire? And who, above all, profited from these patents? Well, dear riders, we have the answer to those queries on today's Trolley Tuesday and his name is Frank J. Sprague, inventor.

Trolley Tuesday 8/31/21 - Cars of the San Diego MTS

Welcome to the last Trolley post of this very inconsistent month! On behalf of my editor and I, thank you to all our generous rider and supporters who continue to read our articles and learn more about everything that we write here. We promise September will be a return to form with no gaps or inconsistent posting times.

For our last Trolley Tuesday of the month, we thought it would be a good idea to look at the light-rail cars of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and see how forward-thinking this pioneering system really was. Because they were among the first real light-rail comebacks in America (as systems like Muni never really stopped running at all), San Diego's light rail fleet was able to pioneer a lot of light rail tropes that we take for granted today while also handling eventual problems that many of us see as normal. So, without further ado, let's jump right into the cars!

Trolley Thursday 8/26/21 - The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System

After long delays and your patient understanding, we are now at the end of our San Diegan streetcar story! Before Los Angeles re-embraced its light rail, and so did the rest of the country, America's Finest City led the rallying cry for better light rail in defiance of filthy motor buses and car culture that choked city streets and the citizens that rolled upon them. However, unlike many of these stories, San Diego was not doing this to spark a revolution; rather they did it to fix a problem that had plagued them for 31 years after the last PCC pulled its pole off the wire and went into storage. Today, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) stands as a testament to what modern light rail can do to reinvigorate a city, and it is appropriate that a story started by John D. Spreckels deserves to have a sweet ending.

Trolley Tuesday 8/10/21 - The Cars of the San Diego Electric Railway

On Thursday, we covered the general history of the San Diego Electric Railway (SDERy), a sprawling 100-or-so mile electric railway system that helped grow America's Finest City into the international port it is today. On this Trolley Tuesday, we'll be opening up the Adams Avenue Carbarn and looking at the many varied streetcars the SDERy rostered. From the usual smatterings of horsecars and cable cars, to home-grown designs and pioneering streetcars, we have it all! So sit back, ride and relax, and enjoy today's post!

Trolley Thursday 8/5/21 - The San Diego Electric Railway

Welcome to another month of streetcar history and stories on Twice-Weekly Trolley History! For this month, we'll be focusing on the ongoing story of San Diego's streetcars, starting with the original San Diego Electric Railway, or SDERy. San Diego has always been thought of as one of America's "World Class cities", as it was usually the first city encountered by northbound ships coming out the west side of the Panama Canal, and by the early 20th century it had already established itself as a major hub of ferry traffic, fish, lumber, and shipbuilding, to say nothing of its economic promise or its beach tourism traffic fueled by hoteliers and land development. In order for San Diego to become a "City in Motion", though, it needed the momentum of streetcars to make it America's Finest City. On today's Trolley Thursday, let's look back on the history of this legendary system and how it's set up America's current light rail craze.

Trolley Thursday 7/29/21 - Central California Traction, Stockton Electric, and the Red River Logging Company

Welcome, everyone to the last Trolley Thursday (on a Friday, again?) of July, 2021! Over the last few posts, we've been looking at the culmination of electric railways in California's Bay Area and a brief overview of the Central Valley's notable streetcar lines. Today, however, we're going to be a little bit busy. The companies we're going to talk about today are all interconnected and equally short-lived, with the last being the only surviving "traction" railway still operating in California. Of course, the word "traction" there can mean both electric traction and diesel traction. So, sit back with us today as we look at the Stockton Electric, the Red River Logging Company, and the Central California Traction Railways, a Sacramento Delta triple treat!

Trolley Tuesday 7/27/21 - Bakersfield & Kern Electric Railway

Long known as being the Gateway to the Central Valley for many northbound Angelinos, Bakersfield is often thought off as a "drive-through" town with little to actually interest tourists. Its claims to fame are usually through its many famous artists, musicians, and athletes who were born in the city, such as country music stars Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, Disney artist and "Nine Old Man" Marc Davis, too many NASCAR drivers to count, and way too many NFL players to count. However, for the interest of this blog, Bakersfield was also home to a long-lived and cute little local streetcar that helped grow out its little pocket of Kern County through the early 1900s. On today's Trolley Tuesday, let's get freshly baked as we look at the B&KERy, otherwise known as the Bakersfield & Kern County Electric Railway!

Trolley Thursday 7/22/21 - The Visalia Electric Railroad

The Central Valley is often not known for being the most interesting place to be in California. If you ever find yourself driving through, you probably are on the fastest way to the Bay Area or the State Capitol, or you're heading east into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to enjoy the beautiful national parks. However, if you ever find yourself going through Tulare County either towards Fresno, Bakersfield, or Sequoia National Forest, pause first in the town of Visalia and look around you. Before the roar of the Tulare Thunderbowl and before Highway 99 was even thought of, there was once a small electric railway that held much promise for its parent company, Southern Pacific (SP), but various factors led to its early demise and its continued existence as a name on a General Electric 44 Tonner diesel locomotive. On today's Trolley Thursday (still on Friday?), let's peel back the citrus skin of the Visalia Electric Railway and savor the juices of its short-lived history.

Trolley Tuesday 7/20/21 - Peninsular Railway of San Jose

Over the past half year, we at Twice Weekly Trolley History have discussed the Southern Pacific Railroads's interurban holdings in excruciating detail, and it seemed like we covered everything. After all, their holdings ranged from legendary Southern California streetcars to the burning trolley-fire that was the East Bay and Marin County interurbans. However, in our discussions there's always been one company that usually avoids being mentioned when SP's trolleys are brought up. Nowadays, San Jose's own Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (or VTA) operates a rather-wide light rail system in Silicon Valley, but one hundred years ago the VTA's job was actually done by the Peninsular Railway, or "the Pin" to locals. Despite only lasting 30 years and being outshone by SP's other interurbans and being prematurely cut short by weather and war, the Pin remained an important asset to the SP and the South Bay and deserves appreciation on today's Trolley Tuesday.

Trolley Thursday 7/15/21 - The Fresno Traction Company

We're now out of the Bay Area on today's Trolley Thursday (on a Friday?) as we head inland to look at the streetcars and interurbans of the Central Valley! We start our journey today with one of the biggest and most-notable cities in the CV, Fresno (Spanish for "ash tree"). Between 1885 and 1939, streetcars were the way to get around town and in 1903, all of these companies were consolidated under the Fresno Traction Company by (who else?) Henry E. Huntington of the Pacific Electric Railway. Under electrification, the city was able to ease out into the suburbs and rostered almost one-hundred electric streetcars until growth stagnated and automobile ownership took over this once-proud backcountry streetcar. On today's Trolley Thursday, let's get on our high horse and ride through the ash trees as we appreciate the brief but bright history of the Fresno Traction Company!